1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to printing and more particularly to a print media roll holder with a multi-diameter core adapter for use in thermal label printers or the like.
2. Prior Art
Print media for thermal label printers is usually supplied on rolls with the media wound onto hollow cylindrical cardboard or plastic cores. The hollow core commonly comes in two sizesxe2x80x94a 1 inch inner diameter core and a xe2x85x9c inch inner diameter core. The print media core is usually held by two opposing adjustable (media-width) print media roll holders mounted in the body of the label printer.
To accommodate different inner diameter core sizes, various compact removable core adapters for use with print media roll holders are known in the prior art. Removable core adapters suffer a number of disadvantages such as being easy to lose, drop, or damage. Other known solutions include various (usually integral) cylindrical core adapters with axially adjacent core diameters. These adapters, however, are usually bulky and demand considerable amount of space inside the printer at all times, i.e., regardless of whether the printer lid is open or closed, thereby limiting printer design options for the printer manufacturer.
Therefore, the need arises for an improved print media roll holder which preferably incorporates an integral multi-diameter core adapter that does not need any removable parts to operate, occupies a relatively small space inside the label printer compared to prior art devices, and is designed for easy inner diameter core size adjustment by the user.
The present invention is directed to a print media roll holder adapted for use with print media rolls of different core sizes, comprising a frame and a core adapter pivotally coupled within the frame for rotational movement about a central axis. The core adapter has a first side adapted for coupling to a print media core of a first inner core diameter and a second side adapted for coupling to a print media core of a second inner core diameter.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from a review of the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention.